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Author
Topic: Menopause (Read 6189 times)

Is anyone experiencing menopausal symptoms? Like hot flashes, night sweats etc.? My doctor put me on some type of birth control pills to try to regulate my periods, but they still last like two-two and a half weeks. And he told me I have to quit smoking while using them. Is anyone experiencing any problems related to this?

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I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

Have you had your FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) levels checked? Those were some of the first things my doc checked when I started complaining of heavy, marathon periods. As my levels were normal, he said it meant my problem wasn't menopause-related.

I get night-sweats sometimes, but they seem to be hiv-related. I don't get the hot flashes.

If you're a smoker and of an age where menopause might be a factor, your doctor should not put you on one of the pills where blood-clots are a danger. My doctor told me he wouldn't put me on one of these pills even if I quit smoking, due to my age. (I'm 44 - he told me that at age 43)

I am going to have something called a Marina Coil fitted sometime soon. It's part IUD, part slow release hormone, like the implants they put under your skin. I'm told that the release is localised where it can directly affect your ovaries and so doesn't carry with it the blood-clotting potential side-effect. Allegedly, the first period you get after having this coil fitted is heavy, but they decrease from there on out until many women don't have a period at all. (I'm really looking forward to that!)

I have suspicions that heavy periods are a side-effect of having hiv. I've talked to so many positive women who have this problem, both on and off the meds. (I'm ten years poz, treatment naive) It seems to me to be a much higher proportion of positive women than negative women with this problem, but as far as I know, there hasn't been a single scrap of research into this. Typical, eh?

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Hmmm, I have been wondering the same thing. I think I have hit pre-menopause. I get hot flashes on occassion. And I use to have those marathon periods that Ann spoke about, mine would usually last about 2 weeks. It made me concerned because I am anemic and thought that was a lot of blood to lose. The ER put me on a birth control pill til I got to see my gyn. He took me off the pill and put me on the depo shot which I just love. No periods, no bitchiness, nothing.

hi guyz,i'm 45 (poz since 84) and have been going through pre-/menopause now for years. it is an area that is only now getting some attention but it would appear that both genders suffer from abnormally low levels of all hormones.

as i suffered from hot flashes and sweat poring out of every pore of my body, not to mention feeling totally off balance to the point of being hysterical i went to my gyno (not just any gyno but a guy that stays on top of all things concerning hiv+). ive tried all of the lower dosed treatments without avail. now i take a half more than the recommended maximum dosage of oestrogen gel and double the recommended dosage of progesterone tablets. now i feel almost normal. im also going to ask him next time about boosting my tostesterone because my sex drive is also around the zero mark.

what i noticed during this process is how little every one knows about the interactions between our meds and or our being hiv+ and menopause. either our meds or our bodies reaction to being hiv eats up not only our natural hormones but also the substitute preparations.

all i can suggest to anyone going through the same thing is stay in there and insist on changing dosages and preparations until u find the one that fits. its no good being safe from getting breast cancer (which is not yet proven in any case) if youre in danger of throwing yourself out the window at the drop of a hat.

Hi...I'm new here, but am + 24 years. Am 47 and started perimenopause approximately eight years ago. Started treating it on my own with anything/everything "natural" (wild yam, cohosh, dong quai, etc.) until I gave in to HRT about six years ago, when I started conventional HIV meds, as well. (Kept myself more or less healthy for 15 years with anything/everything "natural" for that, too.) I'm also of the belief that the virus depletes our natural hormones (my boyfriend's testosterone was way low, too) as well as everything else we need to stay healthy. My biggest gripe with the perimenopause is insomnia. Have not had a decent "unaided" night's sleep in eight years, which in turn, isn't great for the immune system. I've found some relief for the insomnia with 5-HTP, Relora (generic Relacore), melatonin, and oh, yes...Valium.